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I've abused my Black & Decker (steamxpress 680) iron for 10 years, and it has finally reached the end of its lifespan. It's still functional for some quick uses, except the auto-shutoff feature is possessed. Heats up great, makes a lot of steam, but the second I move it horizontal to iron, the auto shutoff kicks in. Now as I read reviews for B&D and Rowenta irons, it appears that all of the new models have issues with their auto shutoff, too. Ugh.

A few questions:
1) anyone know how to disable an iron's automatic shutoff feature?
2) anyone know of a quality iron that doesn't have an auto shutoff?
3) anyone have an especially awesome iron that they can recommend?

Jeesus christ! Do people iron their clothes still?

**looks down at faded T-shirt**

OK, nevermind. Just get one for $10 @ walmart!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xerxys (Post 2833605)

OK, nevermind. Just get one for $10 @ walmart!

Went to Wal-Mart this evening, actually. For $8 I could have gotten a 3-pack of an iron, a griddle, and a coffee maker. I could have chosen from a variety of fun and spunky colors such as magenta or lime green. Decided against it. I'm really hoping to find something that will last me another decade.

a) Nope

b) Nope... and do they even make them without that any more?

c) Yeah, we have an awesome iron. It's a Hamilton Beach (model 14432) and it kicks butt. Very precise with heat levels, reasonable (Target or WalMart, can't remember), and reliable. And it takes quite awhile for the auto-shut off to kick in.

Irons from Consumer Reports:

Quote:

Whether you have baskets of crumpled clothes and linens or just an item or two, the right iron can make your chore easier and faster. After months of ironing—482 shirts made of cotton, silk, cotton-polyester blend, and wool blend; 54 linen tablecloths; and 81 napkins—we found a $20 steam iron that outperformed $130 models.

The nine standouts from our tests of 26 steam irons, cordless irons, and a steam-generator iron combine impressive performance and value. The design of top-rated A1 T-Fal can help keep its cord from dragging across clothes while you iron, preventing wrinkles. Its ceramic soleplate easily glided over fabrics.

A2 Rowenta and A3 Kenmore produced more steam than most other irons, and the Rowenta made quick work of smoothinglarge linen tablecloths.

A4 Black & Decker is a CR Best Buy at only $20 but it lacks the steam shutoff-control feature found on many of the other irons we tested. Linen and cotton, for example, might not turn out as crisp-looking, because they should be finished with a dry iron. A5 Hamilton Beach had very good scores across the board; A6 Sunbeam, A7 Shark, and A8 Panasonic are among the lowest-priced.

The steam irons in our first category of Select Ratings automatically shut off within minutes if left upright and usually in less than a minute if left face down. All irons we tested have a burst-of-steam button for pressing linen, cotton, or heavy denim.

If you usually iron lots of items at once or are an avid sewer, consider B1 Rowenta, a steam generator. It has a large separate tank for water that produces higher-pressure steam. It excelled in our tests and produces steam at any setting. But the steam generator takes up to 11 minutes to heat and it lacks an automatic shutoff.

You won't find the Black & Decker QuickPress F975 or Proctor Silex Easy Press 17585 in our Select Ratings. Those bottom-scoring irons gave little steam but still did fine ironing fabrics. You should pass on cordless models, which required constant reheating, extending ironing time. We also found that nonstick coatings didn't make ironing easier.
Quick tip

Start ironing on low heat and work your way up to fabrics needing higher settings.

The top-rated iron in their ratings is the T-Fal Ultraglide. I have an older model of this iron, and love it.

Not sure if you can access the ratings (I'm logged in through my public library), but here's the link:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/a...s-overview.htm

Thanks Snowy & Noodle! Not sure why I didn't see this sooner. I still haven't gotten around to choosing a repacement iron, looks like I might go along with that consumer report and get a T-Fal.